Device for fastening lock-keys



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DEvicE FOR FAsTi-:NING LOCK-KEYS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 48,602, dated July 4, 1865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES R. TEMPEST, of

l the city of Philadelphia, in the State of Penn- Sylvania, have invented a new and useful lmprovement in the Mode ot Fastening Keys in Door-Locks to prevent the former from being turned and the door opened from the outside of the room; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ot' the construction and operation of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making part of this speciijcation, in which- Figure l represents the face side of a door- ,lock having my invention applied thereto, and

Fig. 2 a longitudinal section 0f the keyof the same, like letters ot' reference indicating the` same parts when in both figures.

The nature ot' my invention consists of a circular series of ratchetteeth, in combination with a tlat disk xed on the key, and of a spring-pawl pivoted to the face side of the lock case, the same being constructed and arranged to operate together, substantially in the manner hereinafter described.

1n the drawings, A B is the lock-case, G the key, andD the spring-pawl. i y

The lock A B may be made in any ot the usual forms of an outside lock, to be iixed in a room-door and operated by means ot' a removable key.

The key O has a flat disk, c, and a seriesof ratchet-teeth, c2, fixed together permanently on its stem c3 in Such a manner that when the said key is inserted into the key-hole of the lock, S0 as to operate the bolt a thereof, the said disk will t over and entirely cover the key-hole, the series of ratchet-teeth c2 being on the outer side of the said disk.

The pawl D is pointed at one end, d', so that the said end'will extend over the one Sideot' the disk c', and its point t between the ratchcured to the case of the lock A B by means of a pivot, d4, on which it can bevibratedin such a manner that its point d will be brought into gear with the ratchet-teeth' c2, or can be re-v `moved therefrom by pressing against the handle d3, as occasion may require.

Operation: The point dot' the pawl D being turned away from the key-hole, b y pressing the handle d3 in an opposite direction, so as to bring the pawl into the position indicated by the dotted lines of the same, Fig. 1, the key C is inserted into the key-hole and the pawl then released, and consequently its pointed end passes over partot' the disk c and engages the ratchet-teeth o2, so as to allow the key to be easily rotated in locking the door from the inside of the room, but so, also, as to e'ectually prevent its being rotated in an opposite direction, or so as to unlock the door until the pawl D is released from the ratchet teeth, which latter can be done only from the inside of the room, because the disk c effectually covers the key-hole and prevents the passage ot' any instrument through it from the outside whereby the pawl could be operated,and hence affords perfect security against the keynippers and other devices of thieves for opening locks from the outside of the rooms, which is the object of' my invention.

The device is cheap and is easily constructed and applied to any of the exposed room-door locks in use.

Having thus fully described my improvement, what l claim as new therein ot'niyinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

The disk c, in combination with the ratchet-teeth c2 on the key C, and the spring-pawl D on the face ot' the lock-case A B, the said parts being constructed and arranged to operate together, substantially as and forthe purpose describe i lJ AMES R. TEMPEST. Witnesses:

BENa. MoRIsoN,

JAS. WINSMORE. 

